Roxburgh urges SFA to appoint a Walter clone

The former Scotland manager is stunned that Walter Smith has quit  as he was the ideal man to lead the national team

ANDY ROXBURGH has one message for the Scottish Football Association as they begin their recruitment process for the national team manager’s post tomorrow: rather them than him. Now Uefa’s technical director, Roxburgh is an acknowledged expert on the qualities demanded of any national coach, but even he admits that choosing a new manager will never be an exact science. Scotland’s problem is complicated by his suspicion that they had the winning formula in Walter Smith.

“He was the ideal coach for Scotland,” said Roxburgh. “He was pulling some results out of the hat you didn’t think Scotland had in them. I was at that game against France (the 1-0 victory at Hampden in October) just watching in awe at what was happening. I don’t think it’s an easy choice now. It’s a difficult situation they (the SFA) find themselves in, especially in the middle of a campaign.